Black Friday shoppers get early door busters

Shoppers wait in line outside Target Thursday night waiting for doors to open at 8 p.m. Shoppers found lots of deals as area stores opened with “Black Friday” style savings.

Bill Hand/Sun Journal

By Bill Hand, Sun Journal staff

Published: Friday, November 29, 2013 at 01:31 PM.

Before Santa’s elves have barely cleared the turkey from the table, Christmas has begun.

It’s been dubbed as “Brown Thursday” — Black Friday sales held as early as 7 a.m. Thursday morning and last through the night and, while some employees admitted they were not terribly pleased to be away from family on Thanksgiving day, retailers themselves could not have been happier.

By 5:30 p.m. the Walmart parking lot, for instance, was jammed to overflowing with shoppers having to park at the extreme edges of the plaza lot while others slowly circled the lanes, waiting for a spot to open.

The store was bustling with both bargain seekers and employees — store manager Chris Hooper said the entire crew of more than 300 was there to things going smoothly for sales set for 6 and 8 p.m.

“We’re just trying to provide safe shopping,” Walmart regional market manager Eric Litchfield, who was assisting with the night, said. He noted that all timed sale items were guaranteed to be in stock for at least an hour after sales began.

Outside of checking customers’ receipts as they went out the door, he noted, there were no extra security measures beyond the usual in place to watch for shoplifting. “We like trusting our customers,” he said.

Walmart was open all day, but other area stores didn’t open until 6 (Michaels at the mall) or 8 (Target and Belk, for instance) p.m. for their early Black Friday sales.

Before Santa’s elves have barely cleared the turkey from the table, Christmas has begun.

It’s been dubbed as “Brown Thursday” — Black Friday sales held as early as 7 a.m. Thursday morning and last through the night and, while some employees admitted they were not terribly pleased to be away from family on Thanksgiving day, retailers themselves could not have been happier.

By 5:30 p.m. the Walmart parking lot, for instance, was jammed to overflowing with shoppers having to park at the extreme edges of the plaza lot while others slowly circled the lanes, waiting for a spot to open.

The store was bustling with both bargain seekers and employees — store manager Chris Hooper said the entire crew of more than 300 was there to things going smoothly for sales set for 6 and 8 p.m.

“We’re just trying to provide safe shopping,” Walmart regional market manager Eric Litchfield, who was assisting with the night, said. He noted that all timed sale items were guaranteed to be in stock for at least an hour after sales began.

Outside of checking customers’ receipts as they went out the door, he noted, there were no extra security measures beyond the usual in place to watch for shoplifting. “We like trusting our customers,” he said.

Walmart was open all day, but other area stores didn’t open until 6 (Michaels at the mall) or 8 (Target and Belk, for instance) p.m. for their early Black Friday sales.

Judging from the lines that began forming 3 p.m. — even the Shoe Carnival in the Walmart Plaza had customers waiting — most locals were not upset at being pulled away from their Thanksgiving evening.

Belk and Target in particular featured long lines waiting for the doors to open. Shoppers huddled in coats and blankets, some of the earlier arrivers having lawn chairs and snacks while store employees wandered up and down the lines, shouting directions and warning shoppers from trying to cut into line.

Asked why they were willing to turn out on a Thursday, the answers varied. “Because we’re crazy,” one woman laughed.

Darlene Ensley said that for the women of her family it was tradition. “We do it every year,” she said.

Her sister, Jennifer Franklin, added, “It’s the one day in the year that the men know we aren’t taking care of the kids tonight.”

Some, less interested in tradition or a ladies’ night out, came for specific items.

“We’re here to get the boots,” Tiffany Berry, another Belk shopper declared. “Just the boots. And I want the $1,000 gift card.”

She admitted she was getting the boots for herself, “But if I get the $1,000 gift card I’ll buy boots for other people, too.”

Several department stores declared Thursday a great day of sales and added that Friday was going better than expected as well.

“Yesterday we went $25,000 over our forecast,” Christie, Target’s senior team leader, stated. She hadn’t worked Thursday, she said, but “They said it was a madhouse.”

Christie said business was a little slower than expected early Friday morning, but “I expect that’ll pick up this afternoon.” She said she fully expected the store to go over the sales forecast for Black Friday itself.

“It was a successful Black Friday,” Hooper agreed. Walmart had a great Thursday he added, and “it’s very busy this morning.”

A Belk spokesperson said only that “We’ve been very happy,” while a Penneys manager noted that Thursday did well and “It’s real busy right now.

“It’s better, much better, than last year,” she said. “We’ve got lines going at all the registers right now, so people are shopping a lot more than last year.”